Gérard D. Levesque (May 2, 1926 – November 17, 1993) was a longtime

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

politician and

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

minister, who twice served as interim leader of the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; , PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has traditionally supported a form of Quebec federalist ideology with nuance ...

. Levesque was first elected to what is now called the

Quebec National Assembly The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Quebec (representing the King of Canada) and the Nat ...

in the riding of

Bonaventure Bonaventure ( ; ; ; born Giovanni di Fidanza; 1221 – 15 July 1274) was an Italian Catholic Franciscan bishop, Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal, Scholasticism, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General ( ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

and sat in the

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

continuously until the end of his life. Under

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Jean Lesage Jean Lesage (; June 10, 1912 – December 12, 1980) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 19th premier of Quebec from July 5, 1960, to June 16, 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and others, he is often v ...

he served as minister of housing and fisheries and then as minister for trade. In the first cabinet of

Robert Bourassa Robert Bourassa (; July 14, 1933 – October 2, 1996) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd premier of Quebec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Liberal Party of Quebec, he served a total of just ...

, who came to power in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, he served in various capacities including minister of trade,

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and deputy premier. After the defeat of the Bourassa government in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, Levesque served as

Leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

until 1979, while leaders

and then

Claude Ryan Claude Ryan (January 26, 1925 – February 9, 2004) was a Canadian journalist and politician. He was the director of the newspaper ''Le Devoir'' from 1964 to 1978, leader of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1978 to 1982, National Assembly of ...

were without parliamentary seats. Levesque was noted for his fierce opposition to what was introduced as Bill 1, the

Charter of the French Language The ''Charter of the French Language'' (, ), also known as Bill 101 (, ), is a law in the Canadian province of Quebec defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the official language of the provincial government. It is th ...

; his procedural wrangling meant it had to be eventually reintroduced as Bill 101. Levesque was also interim leader of the party between Bourassa's resignation and the election of Ryan. Levesque again served as Leader of the Opposition and acting leader of the party from August 1982 to September 1983 after the resignation of Ryan and until the return of Bourassa for his second stint as party leader. In the second Bourassa government, elected in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, Levesque served as minister of finance, a position he held until his death in 1993 at the age of 67.

In popular culture

The name of the fictional character Gérard D. Laflaque, protagonist of the satirical TV program '' Et Dieu créa... Laflaque'', is a variation of his name.

Bibliography

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levesque, Gerard D. 1926 births 1993 deaths Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Lawyers in Quebec Université de Montréal alumni Ministers of justice of Quebec Politicians from Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Quebec political party leaders Deputy premiers of Quebec 20th-century Canadian lawyers 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec